Review Summary

Since the publication of the first installment in Lemony Snicket's (a k a Daniel Handler's) charmingly malignant book cycle, "A Series of Unfortunate Events," the three Baudelaire children — Violet, Klaus and Sunny — have been trying to find safe harbor in a world fraught with danger. For 11 consecutive books, the children have passed from the care of one well-intentioned adult after another, braving the sort of peril usually faced by silent-screen heroines named Pauline and leaving a trail of corpses in their wake. To date, the cause of their misfortunes has been their onetime guardian, Count Olaf, who hopes to steal their fortune. But now the characters have embarked on one of the most dangerous adventures known in literature: their story has been turned into a major Hollywood movie — and with Jim Carrey, no less. "A Series of Unfortunate Events" suffers from one of the most grievous maladies that can strike a children's film, notably a regrettable tendency to fill in all the quiet with noise. Mr. Carrey's loud, showboating performance is the worst offender in this regard. — Manohla Dargis